Around-the-World Roundup: 'Battle: Los Angeles' Invades World

Battle: Los Angeles fought its way to the top of the foreign box office over the weekend thanks primarily to a strong opening in China. Rango took a bit of a hit, though it still played well in most key markets, while The King's Speech extended its exceptional run with a solid start in South Korea and continued dominance in Germany.

Battle: Los Angeles added 19 new territories for a total of 52 and led the box office with $28.7 million. A huge portion of this came from its $11.1 million first-place debut in China. Among recent U.S. imports, that's about even with The Green Hornet and a tad ahead of Tron Legacy. The movie also opened in first place in Australia ($2.6 million) and Brazil ($1.5 million), and finished in second in France ($1.9 million) behind a local title.

These openings drove the majority of Battle: Los Angeles's box office, as the movie was down 55 percent in holdover markets. South Korea was probably its best holdover, dipping 44 percent to $1.7 million. It saw its biggest hit in Russia, where it plummeted 66 percent to $1.5 million, and it also retreated 51 percent in the United Kingdom ($1.4 million). Battle's total reached $51.7 million overseas for a worldwide (domestic plus foreign) total north of $114 million.

In its third weekend Rango grossed $19.5 million from 54 markets for a total of $73.5 million. Its only major opening came in Russia, where it scored a solid $4.4 million second-place finish. Holdovers, led by Australia ($2.2 million) and the U.K. ($1.7 million), were down an average of 42 percent. Rango has made over $167 million worldwide, and it expands in to France this coming weekend.

The King's Speech scored another $11 million to bring its overseas total to $225.4 million. It held first place for the third-straight weekend in Germany with $1.7 million, and it added $1.2 million in France. It also opened to a strong $1.3 million in South Korea. The movie's worldwide total has reached an impressive $359.1 million, and it still has a chance of closing with over $400 million.

The Rite earned $7.1 million from 52 territories for a total of $46.1 million. It had a respectable $1.6 million opening in Spain, though it faltered with a $565,000 ninth-place start in Germany.

Rounding out the Top Five was foreign romantic comedy Office Romance, which took the top spot in its native Russia with $5.9 million. Further down the chart, domestic winner Limitless opened to $5.1 million from six territories, including Russia ($2.9 million) and Australia ($1.9 million).